6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

[CinnamonGal]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

With regards to my previous post when I wrote "A single person's experience does matter...", I would like to correct myself :lol: I expressed myself clumsily as it often happens with the foreign languages (that is not an excuse though).

Of course everyone's experience matters and anyways who would decide if it does or not. :roll: What I meant to say in response to John's posts was that sometimes one person can make a difference as to raising awareness of the public about particular issues that might not be on most people's agenda otherwise. This is what I meant to say.

Gassho,

Irina
(lost in languages)

[John]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

I got your meaning ok the first time, Irina. Your English is very good - so good I thought you were an American girl living in Sweden at first. BTW, they showed me a disabled-accessible room they have just finished when they were rebuilding part of a retreat centre I attend. It was quite good but they seem to be putting in spring-loaded fire doors in new buildings nowadays. That would actually trap me in the room because I can't push a wheelchair against a strong spring-loaded door!

Gassho,
John

[John]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

I guess I had a very narrow understanding of who a bodhisattva was, something in terms of a person who chose to postpone her own enlightenment to make sure everybody else got theirs first. :roll: I don't even know if it makes sense, this understanding. First of all, if I and my company are thirsty and I know where to get water and head there determined to return to my friends with water, the first thing I would do when reaching the water would be to satisfy my need for it so I have enough strength to go back and bring it to the others. Secondly, why would getting enlighetend prevent me from helping others in the first place?

The way I have heard about it is that there is supposed to be another class of people who are only interested in enlightenment for themselves (sravakas):

“The Mahayana school holds that pursuing only the basic path of Hinayana Buddhism is too narrow an aspiration, as it lacks the ultimate moral motivation (from the Mahayana perspective) of actively resolving to liberate all other beings from samsara, as well as oneself. Such a "Hinayana" approach to Dharma tends to focus on an ascetic, individual orientation towards the attainment of nirvana (rather than the ulta-altruistic quest of the Bodhisattva): suppression of desire, removal from the world, solitude. Its followers are referred to as ?r?vakas and pratyekabuddhas in the Mahayana sutras……”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana#Bodhisattva

Gassho,
John

[lindabeekeeper]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

John,
Thanks for opening the door to reality a little wider for me. I think that your efforts are exactly how a Boddhisattva helps others to become enlightened. One thing that I noted about this chapter is that a Boddhisattvas actions have consequences. Your action to participate at sesshin certainly did for you. But your ability to gracefully accept the consequences and not leave helped others to begin seeing reality.

Great thread.

Gassho,

Linda

[Bansho]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

Hi,

John - many thanks for sharing your experience with us and for your wise words. Sorry to be catching up with my posts so late. ops:

Regarding the question, 'What is a boddhisattva?' you could also define a bodhisattva as one who acts as a true adult. That is, most people in the world act like children. ... Today most people who are called adults are only pseudo-adults. Physically, they grow up and become adult, but spiritually too many people never mature to adulthood. They don't behave as adults in their daily lives. A bodhisattva is one who sees the world through adult eyes and whose actions are the actions of a true adult.

When I was a child I used to think people naturally mature and become wiser with the passing years simply as a matter of course. What a bunch of nonsense! Of course I realize now that things just don't work that way. We really have to work at it to truly become an adult. It's not just something you can measure in years.

Gassho
Ken

[Tb]

Re: 6/20 - The Bodhisattva Vow p. 116

Hi.

You know when you have these "weird moments"?
Well we had one last night during our Bookclub here reading this book...

And in this section he talks about "bodhisattvas" and how they're not driven by desires and not subject to karma (one participants interpretation) and lets just say that after a while we left that part agreing to disagree and not speak about that section again...

Mtfbwy
Tb